Medium

We can cast off the shackles of our daily lives.

We can go anywhere we want to go.

We can be any version of ourselves

That we want to be.

I'm not saying that isn't true.

Who am I to contradict a college textbook?

But any schoolkid can tell you

That there is one thing you can't do in your dreams.

you can't die.

According to just about every schoolkid

Who's ever lived--

If you actually die in your dream,

You'll die in real life, too.

We laugh at that idea as we get older.

But I wonder sometimes:

Can we ever be absolutely sure

That those kids are wrong?

I mean, if your dream does kill you,

You're not around to talk about it, right?

They'll call it a heart attack.

They'll say you died in your sleep.

They'll never know what actually happened

Is that your worst nightmare finally caught up with you.

You okay?

You all right?

Actually, I'm dead.

Well, get some more sleep.

You'll feel better. Mm.

They're coming to get you, Barbara.

Stop it.

You're ignorant.

They're coming for you, barbara.

Look! There comes one of them now.

Cool.

They really were coming for her.

Johnny: I'm getting out of here. Barbara: Johnny!

Johnny!

Help me!

Hey, where you goin'?

You're not afraid, are you?

Hey, what're you watching over there?

It sounds pretty scary for a Sunday morning.

It's some old movie called night of the living dead.

It's part of a zombie movie marathon

That's going to be on until Halloween.

They're not running the one

Where everyone gets trapped in the mall,

Are they? Ariel: Bridgette!

I am going to kill you!

Mom!

Make her come and get this thing

Out of here!

Bridgette, I mean it!

Get in here before I flush this thing!

That thing has a name.

Miss scarlet.

I don't care what your stupid science class

Decided to call their stupid pet.

Get it out of here. Now!

Bridgette, I thought you told me

You were going to keep miss scarlet in your room.

I know, but miss colletto said tarantulas do better

In humid environments

Like a bathroom or a basement.

And it's not like I was going to keep her in here.

Humid. Huh.

How do you think she'll feel at the bottom of the toilet?

ariel, relax. Bridgette, hey.

Bring miss scarlet back into your room.

You can bring her in here when it's your turn to take a bath.

Scanlon.

He does know it's Sunday, right?

Hey. What's going on?

Hey, I know it's the weekend, but I was wondering

If there's any way you could give me a hand with something.

I got kind of a situation.

What kind of situation?

You're damn right, I'm upset.

Something bad has happened to him,

And you people don't seem to care.

This is a man who has given discounts

To the policemen and firemen

For as long as he's been in business.

He's even buried a few men for free

When he realized that the families couldn't afford it.

And now that he needs you,

All I hear is, it's too soon

To file a missing persons report. Ma'am,

The person who answered your call obviously wasn't aware

Of your father's special relationship

With the department.

Which is why we're here to assure you

That this is being taken seriously.

We're doing everything we can to find your father.

Now, do you think it's possible

Th

That he may have just slipped away without telling you?

Maybe taken some time off?

You haven't heard a word I've said, have you?

He's not taking time off.

He doesn't take time off.

"time off" is not in my father's dna.

This is a man who lives to work.

Period.

He's been running this place for 40 years.

And as far as I know,

The only time he's taken time off

Was the morning that I was born.

And that was only because my mother

Threatened to kill him if he didn't.

Okay, well...

Along those same lines, did he have any enemies?

Anyone who may have wished him harm?

Ten, twelve years ago,

I would've said "no."

He was always a very loved man.

He was the president of the chamber of commerce three times.

He always sponsored a little league team.

He loved this neighborhood.

I think that's why he was so upset

When he started to see it change with the drugs

And the crime and the dealers...

The gangs.

You know, daddy's never been shy about his opinion

With regard to the state of things around here.

And on more than one occasion,

He's had words with

The drug dealers.

Who knows? Maybe...

One of them, finally just, um...

Just got rid of him.

Now, if you'll excuse me,

I have two funerals this morning.

The dead don't like to be kept waiting.

: Yikes.

Okay, here's the plan.

I put miss scarlet on the tip of ariel's toothbrush

And you take a picture.

And then, once ariel's done

Brushing her teeth, we show her the picture.

Your spider looks funny when he's sleeping.

: Okay,

First of all, it's not a spider,

It's a tarantula.

Second of all, it's not a he, it's a she.

And third of all, tarantulas don't sleep.

Well, this one does.

What?

What did miss colletto say?

Was she mad?

No, sweetie, she wasn't mad.

Nobody's mad.

Well, she was just sorry it took her so long to call us back.

She wanted to make sure that you don't worry about it.

She said there's no way of knowing how old miss scarlet was,

And it was probably just her time.

That isn't your fault.

I think I'm just going to go to bed.

Hey, I thought we were going to finish this together.

Yeah, well, you can finish it without me.

I'm just not in the mood anymore.

Hmm.

Did miss colletto happen to mention

What we were supposed to do with the spectacular spider remains?

Apparently, miss scarlet is flushable.

Burial at sea.

Excellent. What about the terrarium?

Well, she said if we don't have any use for it,

We can just throw it away.

Seems that she has more than she needs in her classroom.

Mmm, dead tarantulas,

Flesh-eating zombies,

And a missing funeral parlor director.

Halloween isn't exactly being subtle this year.

Hey, come on, barb.

Church was this morning, huh?

I'm sorry.

Was that you who just said something to me?

And did you say it in black and white?

Hey, I mean, praying's for church, huh?

Come on.

Wait, back up.

Did you just call me "barb"?

My name's allison.

And I'm not sure I like

What this black and white is doing to my skin.

Do you remember one time, when we were small,

We were out here?

It was from right over there.

I jumped out at you from behind a tree,

And grandpa got all excited and he shook his fist at me

And he said, "boy, you'll be damned to hell." (chuckles)

Well, you used to really be scared here.

This is really freaky.

Hey, you're still afraid.

: They're coming to get you, barbara.

You've got to stop calling me barbara!

My name is allison!

Even though this is a dream, my name is allison!

They're coming for you, barbara.